Who created "Hermia and Helena"?

Hermia and Helena was created by Washington Allston in before 1818.

When was "Hermia and Helena" created?

This artwork was created before 1818.

Is "Hermia and Helena" in the public domain?

Yes, Hermia and Helena is in the public domain and available for free download under CC0 license.

Hermia and Helena

Washington Allston

before 1818

Medium

Painting

Classification

Painting

Department

Smithsonian Collection

Museum

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Credit

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program and made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, the Catherine Walden Myer Fund, and the National Institute

Accession Number

1990.21

Tags

femalewaterfallMidsummer Night's DreamPortrait femalereading

About this artwork

Washington Allston said that this painting represented "the singleness and unity of friendship." He posed the two women so that they suggest one figure, and they read from a shared book. In Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream, Helena eloquently describes her friendship with Hermia in the third act: "So we grew together, / Like to a double cherry . . . / Two lovely berries moulded on one stem." Like many Americans of his time, Allston was educated in the classics. He painted Hermia and...

Hermia and Helena

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